Letter says Wand brothers are innocent

Letter to Monroe Times claims to be from Sharon Wand

A letter to the Monroe Times, claiming to be from Sharon Wand, states that her husband and his brother are innocent and didn't set the fire that killed her three boys and resulted in severe burns to her body.

Sharon Wand's sister, Amy Peterson, told News 3 Sharon was intending to contact the newspaper with a statement, but she could not verify that the letter was from Sharon.

Armin Wand, 33, was sentenced to three life sentences plus 140 years in prison. Jeremy Wand, 19, was accused of helping Armin start the fire and recently asked a judge to withdraw his guilty pleas.

The handwritten letter states that Sharon's husband was asleep by her and Jeremy wasn't there the night of the fire. "When I learned what happened I was hurt and upset. I was looking for somebody to blame like everybody was. So that's why I said those lies about Armin."

The letter said she apologized to Armin and would like to apologize to Jeremy. "You have two innocent people in custody. I know the truth about that night. I was there."

“We can’t know her motivation for recanting but what we can know about her is she’s a human who has experienced remarkable trauma and people who experience remarkable trauma have a whole range of reactions related to late,” said Patti Seger with End Domestic Violence Wisconsin.

Seger said it is quite common for victims of domestic violence to recant their stories.

Armin Wand's attorney working on his appeal, Pat FitzGerald, told News 3 she has not seen the letter and doesn't know what affect it might have on the appeal.

A public profile page on Facebook claimed to be operated by Sharon Wand makes statements consistent with the letter's statement's about Armin and Jeremy's innocence.

Sharon’s sister told New3 she knew her sister had planned to reach out to the newspaper but couldn’t verify the letter was from her.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice declined comment on the letter.

Copyright 2013 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.